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Let's End "Witchhunt" Persecution in Uganda

Of course, there are no such things as witches or witchcraft. However, "Witchhunts" are regularly conducted by self-anointed Christian Evangelical "Healers" for their own gain and fame throughout Africa, with tragic and often fatal results for the victims who are usually the most vulnerable in the community.

TIME TO BRING AN END TO BLASPHEMY LAWS!

By going to the ICABL websiteyou can find news on victims of Blasphemy laws from all around the world, including an interactive map with detailed information on the countries’ blasphemy laws and consequences.

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Dr Robert Grant, Lecturer in Philosophy at Trinity College, and Michael Nugent, CEO of Atheist Ireland, debate the merits of 'new atheism', as well as the manner in which some communicate their message.

According to even the last census, Ireland is still a Catholic country, with huge amount of people professing to believing in God.

But there is no doubt that atheism continues to gain in popularity.

Dr Robert Grant wrote an article in the Irish Times this week questioning how some atheists put forward their message, and even went so far to say that the way in which the message is sometimes coomunicated is 'dangerous'.

George Hook invited him onto the Right Hook this week along with the CEO of Atheist Ireland Michael Nugent, and a lively debate ensued.

EASTER Sunday may be one of the most important Christian celebrations, but for many Australians it will just be about chocolate.

According to Northern Star, the proportion of Australians who identify as Christian is falling fast, down over 8% points in the last two years.

And if the current trend was to continue, Christians will soon be in the minority in Australia, the latest research from Roy Morgan shows.

In late 2011, Christians outnumbered the non-religious by more than two to one with 60.9% of Australians (11.4 million) identifying as Christian compared with 29.2% (5.5 million) who said they had no religious affiliation.

Last week, the High Court ruled against the current funding model of the federal government’s controversial school chaplaincy program. It's just the latest episode in a debate over education, religion and the state that goes back to the colonial era, writesKeri Phillips.

There are two strands to the dispute over education, religion and funding. The first concerns the government funding of private schools, almost all of which are run by or affiliated with religious organisations. The second concerns the place of religious instruction in public schools. Both have been the subject of referenda and legal challenges. The relationship between religion, education and the state has been controversial since the states began introducing compulsory public schooling in the second half of the 19th century. Until then, schools had been largely run by the churches and paid for by the government.

The rise of the religious "nones" in the United States show that more and more people are choosing not to affiliate themselves with an organized religion. But why is this so threatening to people of faith?

Commenter Jackie Martinez wrote, "I don't identify as Atheist (but definitely Agnostic), but I'm saddened by the state of our world when we trust a cheater or rapist more than an Atheist. It's discouraging and disheartening."

According to abc News, in the wake of a brutal murder by members of a religious sect, the Chinese government is renewing its crackdown on cults.

State-run publications, such as the Xinhua News Agency, are producing a steady stream of articles alarming citizens to the dangers of religious cults, known in Chinese as "xiejiao," which in English means "evil religions."

Xinhua reports that the government has handed out four-year prison terms to 59 of the 1,500 cult members arrested since 2012. These 59 individuals were charged with "using religious organizations to disrupt the legal system."

When neuroscientist Andrew Newberg scanned the brain of “Kevin,” a staunch atheist, he realized that his brain operate in a significantly different way, compared with the Buddhist monks and Franciscan nuns.

“He had far more activity in the prefrontal cortex, the area that controls emotional feelings and mediates attention. Kevin’s brain appeared to be functioning in a highly analytical way, even when he was in a resting state.” says Newberg.

When people speak in tongues, they’re gone, they’re in a completely altered state. But most of the time they’re normal people like us

“When people speak in tongues, they’re gone, they’re in a completely altered state. But most of the time they’re normal people like us, with jobs and children – they don’t show any sign of being delusional,” says Newberg. “Scans of their brains – when they’re ’possessed’ – show very different results to scans of Buddhist monks or Carmelite nuns in prayer or meditation. There you see increased frontal lobe activity in the areas concerned with concentration, but the speakers in tongues had decreased activity in the same area, which would give them the sensation that someone else was ’running the show’.”

Sheikh Khaled Alshayea the assistant secretary of the the global commission for introducing the messenger has attacked animated series aired on MBC named "99" considering the idea is based on the embodiment of the names of Allah in cartoon.

" There is the inventor who called "Aleem": who will predict what will happen, and there is "Bari": who has the ability to heal the sick. and there is "Gabbar" who has strong muscles etc" He said

So the General Presidency of Ifta has issued fatwa that with cartoon is void ad must be forbidden.

According to EIN News, Czech MP causes storm after accusing the Catholic Church of agreeing to massacre of Jews, helping Nazis escape justice.

Speaking in the country's lower house of parliament Friday, Igor Jakubcik said the Church had been one of the biggest partners of the Third Reich, and accused it of agreeing to the expulsion and massacre of Jews as part of the Nazis' "Final Solution."

Jakubick further accused the Catholic Church of helping Nazi war criminals escape to South America.

In his book (published March 2014), Jimmy Carter stresses the similarity between the racial prejudice that existed in the Deep South at the time when he was a boy and the worldwide prejudice, discrimination, and violence against females as a result of religious teachings and/or political and cultural forces.

When Carter was elected governor of Georgia, he found that black women prisoners staffed the governor’s mansion. It was a terrible injustice, Carter writes.